Charitable Surgeries
Dr. Niamtu, his partners and his staff have a quarter of a century history of providing free surgical care to those in need. Over the past 2 decades, Dr. Niamtu has provided free surgical reconstruction to children from third world countries and from the United States. In addition he has orchestrated a continuum of care for these children with local hospitals and physicians. Dr. Niamtu and his wife April have been chairpersons for Noah's Children, Operation Smile, Richmond ARC and are also active in the Safe Harbor Women's Shelter.
The following are some of the more interesting cases, mostly children, who were assisted by Dr. Niamtu and his staff, who otherwise would not have been helped. It is extremely rewarding to realize how each patient's quality of life has been enhanced.
Susan Dunham
Susan is a dynamic and loving 54 year old woman who, like all women, wants to look as young as she feels. She exercises, diets and tries her best to stay healthy. What sets Susan apart from most other patients is the fact that she is blind. Susan uses a seeing eye dog and is a great example of the fact that regardless of disabilities, people want to look and feel good.
We first met Susan when she presented to the office for a problem with her jaw. Before she lost her vision, she had had a chin implant which eroded her jaw. Dr. Niamtu reconstructed the defect. During a follow up visit, Susan brought up the fact that she would love to have a facelift to improve her looks and self esteem as well as her prospects of being competitive in the workplace. Since she is on a fixed disability income she realized that such a procedure would be impossible. Dr. Niamtu and his staff were touched by her wish and performed the surgery free of charge.
PDF version of the Richmond Times-Dispatch article about Susan's surgery.
The following images chronicle Susan's experience. Click on any image for a larger view.
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Paul Lattimer
Paul is an energy-charged, delightful 7 year old boy who was born with Pierre-Robin Syndrome. This syndrome causes stunted growth of the facial bones and other associated problems. Paul was unable to open his mouth more that ½ inch. This made eating, speaking and other normal oral functions difficult or impossible. He was also unable to have preventive dentistry and was suffering with decayed teeth. The worst problem, however, was that Paul had severe sleep apnea and his oxygen levels dropped to dangerously low levels at night.
To reconstruct Paul's facial bones, a large operation would be necessary. The damaged jaw joints (TMJ) would need to be removed and two ribs would need to be harvested from Paul's chest to implant in place of the jaw joints. This is a very expensive surgery that requires many hospital resources such as the operating room, anesthesia, pediatric intensive care unit, radiology, etc.
Paul had no insurance coverage for the surgery and Dr. Niamtu and his partners decided to do the surgery pro bono. In addition, CJW hospitals donated many resources for the surgery. Dr. Greg Lockhart, a local cardiothoracic surgeon donated his time to harvest the ribs for Paul's reconstruction. Andy Christen from Medical Modeling in Golden, Colorado also donated selected services in producing a 3-D model of Paul's skull, to assist Dr. Niamtu and his partner Dr. Larry Metzger in planning the surgery.
During the surgery Dr. Niamtu and Dr. Metzger replaced the damaged jaw joints. The ribs are used to reconstruct the jaw joint because they contain cartilage which will continue to grow as the patient ages. Due to this, the jaw will grow at a normal rate with the rest of Paul's body. The surgical procedure took 6 hours and Dr. Niamtu also placed a chin implant to improve Paul's cosmetics and self esteem. He had been teased for years by his classmates due to his lack of chin and this part of the surgery was important to Paul.
Click on any image for a larger view.
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Thanks from Paul for surgery 2-08
Bolivar Vincente
This is one of the most touching cases Dr. Niamtu has been involved with. Bolivar is a 13 year old boy from the Dominican Republic. He was born into poverty and lived in a large family with very poor and rural conditions. Bolivar sustained many injuries in his young age, which appear to be from child abuse. He would not elaborate on his injuries.
In addition to other injuries, his jaw was broken and has been locked shut since the age of 7. Bolivar was unable to open his mouth at all and was malnourished. His only means of eating was to stuff plantains (a type of banana) and rice through a space in his front teeth caused by a decayed tooth. Eating for Bolivar was difficult and embarrassing as he literally had to stuff food morsels through the space left by the decayed tooth. Embarrassment was not new to Bolivar. He was teased by his peers, was extremely shy and would not make eye contact with anyone.
Medical Care for Children (formerly Heal the Children) is a group dedicated to assisting third-world children in need of surgery. Ann Smith of Mechanicsville, Virginia has an extreme devotion to this group and has arranged a number of surgeries with Dr. Niamtu over the years. In addition to Ann, a local family must agree to sponsor the child while he/she is here. Many generous families open their homes and lives to these children and it is both touching and amusing. Some of these children arrive at the airport with clothes made from burlap bags and show up in the office a week later with a Michael Jordan jersey and listening to an iPod, courtesy of the host family.
Dr. Niamtu and his partner Dr. Larry Metzger performed a procedure in which they removed the fused jaw joints (TMJ) and placed temporary implants so that Bolivar could function. The plan is for Bolivar to return to have further surgery. Dr. Niamtu had a goal in mind. He wanted to see Bolivar open his mouth and eat his first burger.
Bolivar's surgery was performed by Dr. Niamtu's office, at no charge.
Click on any image for a larger image.
Brock Johnson
We first saw Brock when he was a child. He is now 14 years old. Brock was diagnosed in early childhood with a potentially fatal malignant tumor behind his right eye. He was treated with radiation which luckily killed the tumor and saved his life. Unfortunately, the radiation severely effected his facial growth and development leaving Brock with many problems. One problem was the significant facial asymmetry and a large cosmetic defect. Brock is at the age when all young men want to look their best. School mates would stare and ridicule him.
While Brock will require numerous surgical procedures in the future, to improve and maintain his situation, we were looking for a simple and minimally invasive procedure to immediately make a difference in his social situation and to improve his self esteem. Brock had no insurance coverage for this type of procedure so Dr. Niamtu agreed to perform the surgery at no charge.
Brock was treated with fat harvested from his abdomen and reinjected into his face to correct the defect.
Click on any image for a larger image.
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Claude LaPiene
Claude was a 15 year old male from Haiti when we met. He was sponsored by Medical Care for Children and Mrs. Ann Smith. Claude was riding a horse with his uncle in his homeland when a motor scooter spooked the horse and Claude was thrown. Claude sustained a broken jaw. It was never treated due to the lack of available medical care and it became fused. Eating and normal oral function were impossible.
Claude had basically been on a liquid diet for years and stated that he most missed the ability to eat an apple! Dr. Niamtu's goal was for Claude to once again be able to eat an apple.
Dr. Niamtu and his partner Dr. Keeney performed a reconstruction of Claude's fused jaw joint. The fusion was removed and a prosthetic disc was placed. This allowed Claude to fully open his mouth and as shown in the Richmond Times-Dispatch picture below he finally got to eat his apple!
Claude remained in the US and is now a citizen. Claude's surgery was performed free of charge by our practice.
Click on any image for a larger image.
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Freddy Paulino
Freddie was a 7 year old male from the Dominican Republic when he was brought to the U.S. by Medical Care for Children and Mrs. Ann Smith.
Freddy lived in a poor, remote village without medical care and was sent to a clinic in the Dominican Republic for increasing facial pain and the inability to open his mouth. He also had an expanding mass on his right face. X Rays showed that Freddie had an aggressive tumor of his right facial bones.
His jaw was potato chip thin and was about to fracture without treatment. The plan was to remove the tumor and reconstruct the jaw joint with one of Freddie's ribs. Using the cartilage on the rib allows the reconstructed jaw joint to grow at the normal rate of the rest of the patient's body.
Our practice treated Freddy free of charge and Dr. Niamtu and Dr. Alexander performed the facial reconstruction while Dr. Greg Lockhart harvested the ribs pro bono. CJW hospital donated the hospital costs.
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Jocelyn Whatley
Jocelyn came to our office as a young lady from a very poor part of the Dominican Republic. She had a horrific facial tumor that had been developing for years. She was continually mocked and teased, did not go to school and rarely left her home. Dr. Niamtu and his partner Dr. Alexander removed this tumor free of charge with CJW hospitals donating the hospital services. The tumor was benign but very aggressive and will require multiple operations over her lifetime. Unfortunately we have not been able to follow up with Jocelyn in her native country.
Jocelyn before and after her first surgical procedure.
Edward Sando
This is truly a touching story. Edward is one of the bravest people I have ever met in my life. This little guy (he is getting a lot bigger) was a casualty of the civil war in Liberia. His family was attacked by rebels and Edward and his mother fled to the jungle to hide out. During this period he developed a severe flesh eating infection that destroyed the middle of his face.
Edward after Dr. Jacobs' surgery
Edward was brought to this country by activist Comfort Miller who has made it her life's goal to assist Edward. Comfort unselfishly sought out surgeons to assist Edward. I had the pleasure to perform the first surgery on Edward where we removed diseased and tissues affected by gangrene from Edward's upper lip, jaw and nose. Our practice did the surgery free of charge and successfully solicited CJW hospital to provide the hospital services pro bono as well. Dr. John Jacobs from Virginia Beach unselfishly reconstructed Edwards missing nose with his exceptional surgical skills. Dr. Baxter Perkinson and assisted Edward to provide him with teeth, which were lost with the disease.
Edward in 2005
Comfort and her husband eventually adopted Edward and he became an American citizen. Edward continues to progress and is developing into a fine young man with extreme artistic skills. Some of Edward's art is on display on our Patient Art Site and can be viewed at the following link.
See Edward's and other patients' art and talent.
Alva Terry
Alva Terry is truly one of the bravest people we have ever met. This strong lady has severe Neurofibramatosis, which is causing disfiguring tumors all over her body. She was featured in a Richmond Times-Dispatch article by medical reporter, Tammy Smith. We were moved by the fortitude of this amazing lady, and touched by her inability to afford cosmetic surgery. Dr. Niamtu and his office performed multiple surgeries at no charge. We also paid her prescriptions and assisted with transportation costs to our office.
Dr. Niamtu and his staff performed many surgeries on Alva and removed hundreds of the neurofibroma tumors on her face and neck.
Alva before and after in various stages of post surgery healing.
Sam Rackley
Sam Rackley is a young man who was teased by other children about his protruding ears. The teasing was cruel, but Sam's family was unable to pay for surgery. Dr. Niamtu and his staff performed cosmetic Otoplasty free of charge for Sam. The results make Sam smile from ear to ear and increased his self-confidence.
Ariel Smith is an adorable young lady from St. Vincent in the Grenadines who sustained facial trauma and was left with facial scars. It was our pleasure to perform scar revision for this beautiful child on a pro bono basis. We also thank Dr. Roger Wood and Dr. Hal Maragh for their respective treatment of this young lady as arranged by Dr. Niamtu.
Mary Contessa
Dr. Niamtu was mentioned in a Richmond Times Dispatch article for offering to perform free reconstructive cosmetic facial surgery on a victim of domestic abuse who was stabbed in the face and body and left for dead by her boyfriend.
